BOOKSTORE

David O’Doherty (Puffin, £6.99)

Reading Beauty -Deborah Underwood/ Meg Hunt (Chronicle, £6.99) Princess Lex loved reading all day and night, not surprising as she lived in a place full of book lovers. Imagine her horror waking up on her fifteenth birthday to find all her books had gone. Worse still, it was her parents who had taken them. Their reason was even more shocking - it was to keep Lex safe. Apparently her christening had been interrupted by a fairy furious at not being invited (even though the King and Queen insisted she had been). Her revenge was to curse Lex to get a paper cut on her fifteenth birthday putting her into a death like sleep. Without books the whole world grew bleak, Lex knew she had to get the fairy to withdraw the curse, but she needed help. Managing to find and read some books without holding them she set off to the fairy’s lair. Using the knowledge gained from the books, Lex overcome all the obstacles put in her way and met the fairy who wouldn’t remove the curse. Until Lex made not one, but two surprise discoveries, which changed everything. This a charming story aided by detailed, colourful illustrations and told in rhyme which helps newly developing readers.

Arctic Star - Tom Palmer (Conkers, £6.99) Loving the sea, it isn’t surprising friends Frank, Joseph and Stephen enlist in the Royal Navy as World War One begins. Nothing could have prepared them for the hardships they have to face as their ship is part of an Arctic convoy protecting supplies to Russia. Not only are the arctic conditions really treacherous, scraping ice from the ship knowing a fall into the freezing water could mean instant death; but they are constantly aware of likely German attacks by air and sea. When disaster strikes, it is unlikely they will all make it home. This is a tense, atmospheric story drawing the reader in by putting them at the heart of the action and emotions of the characters. We experience the hardships they face and their sense of loss as well as the comfort their friendships bring. A gripping story, I couldn’t put it down. Fair size print and some pictures encourage readers onto medium length novels.

I have read so many great books so far this year it has been really hard to decide which ones to feature and worse still, which to leave out of this selection. To include them all would have filled most of the magazine , so here are some of the best. Walker and the Mystery of the Missing Millions Shoo Rayner (Firefly, £6.99) His mother’s allergy stops Walker keeping a dog but he uses his amazing ability to be able to talk to them by walking his neighbour’s dog and making friends with as many others as he can. With the aid of his dog friends, this gift allows him to send millionaire to prison for setting up a puppy farm. This leaves the man’s wife penniless, desperate to find where his money went and too distracted to look after her dogs. Stepping in to look after the dogs, Wallace’s help is also needed to solve the clues to the missing money, but unscrupulous men are also after it. This puts him in real danger, could canine help be at hand? This is an amusing story full of excitement and-loveable doggy characters. Fair size print and some pictures help developing readers.

Rex isn’t the bravest person around, not least of all due to his mother who mollycoddles him. A summer holiday spent with his uncle Derm on a remote Irish island is going to be a bigger challenge than he could imagine changing his life forever. He loves his rather madcap uncle whose approach to Rex is very different from his mothers’. When Rex befriends Kitty her adventurous nature starts to rub off on him, pushing him to try new things. But the discovery of his uncle’s really audacious scheme to rob a bank is a step too far... or is it? Derm is full of good intentions, but uncle whose approach to Rex is very different from his mothers’. When out of this selection. To include them all would have filled most of the Debbie not very good at planning. In fact the plan, or lack of one, can only lead to him being caught, so Rex steps in. But even the best laid plans can be ruined by unforeseen problems, and it is safe to say everything that could go wrong does. Will Rex and his uncle end up in prison or will they find a way to save themselves and Derm’s future? Find out in this exciting story with endearing characters, a clever mix of high adventure and almost slapstick fun. It will have you laughing out loud and unable to put it down. Just when you think things can’t get any worse — they do! Fair size print encourages readers onto medium length novels. Opi Jones Talks to Animals What Did the Tree See? - Charlotte Guillan/ Sam Usher (Welbeck Hb, £12.99) The story of a tree’s long life told in its own words. Starting as an acorn it starts to grow in a huge park full of other fully grown trees. As it grows changes happen around it. Land is cleared for farms, trees are chopped down to make ships and their space taken by more houses as a village develops into a town. Over time the town grows and grows and new inventions appear as hedges and meadows disappear and animals leave. The tree grows older standing alone, but children still play around it and it grows acorns that would complete the circle and grow into a tree to witness whatever the future holds. This is a lovely story that is both entertaining and informative and surprisingly touching considering the narrator is a tree! The wonderfully expressive pictures show details of what is happening as times change and there is an historical timeline and life cycle of a tree at the end giving more information. Again, it is told in rhyme making it easier to read. The Elephant in the Room

Nat Luurtsema (Egmont, £6.99) Despite her actor parents, Opie likes order and routine considering herself to be ordinary. Being shy she doesn’t really have any friends. Lately strange things have been happening with a lot of fights breaking out at her usually well behaved school and many children are being excluded. Stranger still, Opie meets members of the ‘resistance’ who can all read minds. They say she shares their ability and should join them to help defeat a brainwashing plot. As she comes to terms with this news her hopes are dashed - she can’t read people’s minds at all, but she can read the minds of animals, what use could that be? Actually, very useful as she is about to discover in this first book of a new series. It is a clever mix of exciting adventure written in a very funny style that will have you laughing aloud. Fair size print, some pictures encourage readers onto full length novels. S

Sequins and Secrets - Lucy Ivison (Usborne, £6.99) Sylvia loves to draw designs for clothes, but can’t make them. Myrtle is an accomplished seamstress who can make up any design she sees, but can’t design them herself. If only the two could get together.... They do meet , but-in awkward circumstances - Sylvia is a duke’s daughter, Myrtle a maid and in 1920’s society the two shouldn’t mix. They come together to save Sylvia’s sister from a disastrous dress for her débutante ball. The dress is a huge success and both girls hope it will be the first step in their ambitions in the fashion industry, but discovery of their involvement could have terrible consequences for both. Their next project to help a friend escape her débutante life is exciting but even more risky and things definitely do not go according to plan. See what happens in this unputdownable first book in the new series ‘The House of Serendipity’. It is full of atmospheric details of the time that makes the period come to life, not to mention lots of fashion illustrations. Medium length novel. S S

An Alien in the Jam Factory - Chrissie Sains (Walker, £6.99) Scooter may have limited agility due to his cerebral palsy but his brain is full of brilliant ideas which he puts to good use inventing recipes and equipment for the family’s award winning jam factory. He loves doing it, but it makes him lonely; he can’t have a pet as it would be unclean and visiting friends would find out the secrets of the factory. It is important these are kept, especially from their neighbour, Daffy Dodgy who runs a doughnut shop and would do anything to discover their secrets. Scooter’s life changes when a tiny alien called Fizzbee literally crashes into the factory causing a lot of damage. Scooter thinks she is going to be a nuisance, but soon discovers things aren’t what they seem and Fizzbee turns out to be very handy, especially dealing with Daffy. An entertaining story full of laughs showing the importance of friendship. With fairsize print and lots of pictures to encourage new readers. Holly Goldberg Sloan (Piccadilly, £6.99) Sila is missing her mum who has been away in Turkey for over a year trying to sort out her immigrations papers. It wasn’t supposed to take long but nothing seems to be happening. The sadness is affecting every aspect of her life, including school work. Things are made worse when she is made to ‘pair’ with autistic Mateo supposedly to bring each other out. This doesn’t go well at first, but Sila’s life is changed by a chance meeting with Gilo who was married to Slila’s much loved ex teacher. He has just won the lottery and owns a big stretch of land. This comes in handy when he decides to buy Veda, a circus elephant Sila admires. Suddenly Sila’s life has new purpose with new friends which bring about a surprisingly happy consequence. This is an uplifting story showing what can be achieved when friends work together. It is a clever mix of moving and happy moments which will keep you gripped to the end. Medium length novel.

Becky Davies/ Emma Levey (Little Tiger, £7.99) Duck wants a quiet, peaceful, private life and is very grumpy if he is disturbed, which he often is. After several moves to escape noisy neighbours he finds the perfect pond.... but so has frog. Neither of them is willing to back down so they agree to keep out of each others way. This worked very well until they were interrupted - with strange results. A really funny laugh aloud picture book with detailed illustrations adding more humorous details to the story.

Lionel the Lonely Monster

Fred Blunt ( Oxford £6.99) Poor kind Lionel was sad and very lonely. Children were scared of him and grown ups were too busy to notice him so he found it hard to make friends. Then one day as he was sitting crying a dog came up and licked him and brought him a stick. Soon they were playing all kinds of games and Lionel had never been happier – until he saw a lost dog poster for a Milo and realised it was the same dog. He didn’t want to lose Milo, but knew someone was missing him so took him home. Is he going back to his lonely life? See what happens in this really lovely picture book full of the ‘ahh’ factor! his lonely life? See what happens in this really lovely picture book full of the ‘ahh’ factor!

The Incredible Record Smashers

Jenny Pearson (Usborne £6.99) Liking to fix things, Lucy wishes she could fix her mum, who is very unhappy and needs to go away for a while. Finding a photo of her mum looking happy with a celebrity convinces Lucy she could be happy again if she was reunited with the celebrity. Luckily he is due to host a record breakers TV show so Lucy just has to find record she can break to get onto the show. Simple... well, not really. Luckily she has a real friend called Sandesh who is willing to do all it takes to help her achieve her goal whilst fulfilling an ambition of his own. This is an endearing story of friendship and caring for others with many highly amusing moments and some surprising revelations. Full length novel with fair sized print.

The Runaway Girls

Jacqueline Wilson (Puffin Hb, £12.99) Lucy runs away for a break from feeling restricted by the harsh regime of her governess and step-mother and being unloved by her father. Unused to being alone on the streets of London she is robbed of her clothes. Luckily she runs into Kitty who is used to living rough on the streets and takes her in hand. They become friends and start to build a life together performing on the streets for money. They manage quite well, but this kind of life is far from safe with the threat of thieves and, worse of all, the workhouse hanging over them. This is an atmospheric story vividly bringing Victorian England to life. It is full of adventure and shows the importance of trust. Full length novel with fair sized print. Twitch - M. G. Leonard (Walker, £7.99) S Twitch doesn’t find it easy to make friends with people, but birds are easy to befriend. He is obsessed with them and has chickens, pigeons and swallows nesting in his bedroom. He is happy to spend the summer with his birds in the woods, training the pigeons to carry messages. But the woods are full of police looking for an escaped prisoner. An unexpected encounter leads to a string of surprises. Has he misjudged people, can they change and can he trust his own instincts? Using his observational skills, Twitch sets out to catch the prisoner, but who can he rely on to help? There are plenty of unexpected turns in this mystery leading to a pacey, exciting climax that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Full length novel, first in a new series.

Albert Upside Down - Ian Brown/ Eoin Clarke (Graffeg £7.99) Albert the tortoise woke up to a strange world he had never seen before. He couldn’t move, his legs just wiggled in the air. His last memory of climbing a rock makes him realise he must have fallen off onto his back getting stuck. Help from a nearby worm was halted by an argument with a spider over who was the best worker. Interrupting them, Albert suggested they work together and a military style rescue plan involving all manner of creatures ensued, with more arguing and little success. A butterfly’s offer of help was snootily rejected - how could one so delicate be of use? The answer lies in this lovely story that draws you in from the wonderfully disorientating first page to the explosive ending. It is enhanced by really vivid pictures adding hilarious details to the words. Mickey and the Trouble with Moles - Anne Miller (Oxford, £6.99) Being a member of COBRA, a secret band of animal spies, Mickey isn’t surprised to be woken in the middle of the night. A band of moles have broken into a bank and another case is underway. Getting the moles out is just the start - why were they there and what are they up to? Events take a serious turn when Rupert, one of the team, goes missing. The moles will harm him if their demands aren’t met. Do COBRA have to break the law to save him? It is a race against time in this exciting sequel to ‘Mickey and the Animal Spies’ with plenty of laughs and codes to be cracked. Medium length novel with some pictures. S

Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths - Maisie Chan (Piccadilly, £6.99) Danny can’t wait to see the big surprise his parents have planned, the new bunk beds in his room were just the start, what else could be coming? Nothing prepares him for the arrival of his gran from China (Nai Nai) he’d never met before. Surprise? more like a shock. Sharing his room with her was bad enough, but she wouldn’t stop fussing over him, in-front of people too. Danny is expected to look after her which is hard as she doesn’t speak English. Things get even worse when his tormentor at school finds out about her, leading him to fall out with his friend, and then Nai Nai goes missing. Danny discovers Nai Nai has hidden depths as she manages to turn a potential disaster into a positive. An entertaining, thought provoking full length novel with touching moments. It shows not to prejudge people.

Be Nice to Aunt Emma

Anne Fine (Barrington Stoke, £6.99) Tansy dreads Aunt Emma’s visits. She takes Tansy’s room, never brings a present and is rude and boring. Things are worse this time - Tansy is left alone with her aunt. When her dad bribes her to be nice to her aunt she finds an added bonus in that this politeness really annoys Aunt Emma (win, win!). But all is not as it seems and this change of behaviour means Tansy is in for a big surprise. A charming and funny story showing you shouldn’t always jump to conclusions about people. Short novel with large print and some pictures to encourage reluctant readers, but fun for all.

Awfully Spooky Stories -

Rowley Jefferson (Puffin Hb, £12.99) The creator of ‘Diary of a Wimpey Kid’ tells some spooky short stories for those who like to be only slightly scared! There are ghosts, zombies, werewolves, skeletons, mummies and aliens a plenty. All the stories are told in a humorous, friendly way making them enjoyable for even the most squeamish readers. Large print with lots of pictures

Monster Max and the Bobble Hat of Forgetting - Robin Bennett

(Firefly, £5.99) If you think turning into a monster whenever you burp makes you unusual, then Max is unusual. He rather enjoys being able to do this, but needs to learn to control his sneezing as that turns him back into a boy, which can be awkward if he doesn’t mean to turn back. After praise for doing a good deed, Max makes it his mission to protect and do good stuff. He doesn’t expect to meet Peregrine who becomes his nemesis, aiming to catch and imprison the monster. At first Max enjoys tricking him, but when something else starts creating chaos an alliance is needed. This is a really funny story full of laugh aloud moments and plot twists. Large print, medium length novel.